Halo: Checkmate, book 1 - Pawn's Gambit
by Flagwaver
Summary: Jason-078 is a Spartan-II who was conscripted into the toughest training program human-kind has ever known. This story follows his life from his first meeting of Doctor Halsey until the end of his training on the planet Reach. Does he have what it takes to be a Spartan? You'll have to read it to find out! Criticism/review appreciated! Written in journal style.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

**SUBJECT INTERVIEW JOURNAL…**

**SUBJECT: **JASON-078  
**DATE OF BIRTH: **OCTOBER 30, 2510

**INTERVIEWING AUTHORITY: **HALSEY, CATHERINE ELIZABETH, MD, PhD (Civilian Consultant 409871)

**1138 hours, September 1, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Circunius System, Circinius IV, New Constantinople**

When I first arrived with Lieutenant Keyes at Vespasian Preschool, I was not sure exactly what I would find. I've read all of the reports regarding this subject, but nothing really stood out. Even the subject's profile was average compared with the rest of the candidates. I almost skipped over this one in lieu of subject 149, but then something caught my attention.

This subject plays chess. He does not just pay chess, but he apparently plays chess well. According to Orlin, the dumb AI from the Corbulo Academy of Military Science, reported that it had to repurpose a total of 32% of her processing power to beat the subject. Of course, I had Dèjá completely erase all records of the tests from Orlin's memory, but that number was still surprising. I had Dèjá run the numbers and his play level was Class C, which was completely unheard of in anyone at the subject's age. So, I decided to go ahead with the subject's interview.

I cleared my presence with the school's office. Thankfully the ONI powers granted me enough of a clearance to get me through most of the useless bureaucracy that seems to have cropped up of planets like this. The visitor badges that were given to Lieutenant Keyes and myself would get us into every room on campus, regardless of the security procedures. And, if they did not, then I had a break-box in my handbag that could override any lock or AI.

My biocanner lead me to one of the smaller classrooms just in time for the bell to ring for recess. Jacob pulled me to the side of the hall just as a stampede of children burst from the classrooms. It was thought, but unnecessary. Most of them would simply have gone around any adult in the halls. I thanked him with a smile and checked the bioscanner again. The subject was still in the classroom.

I peeked inside the door and saw him. He was laying with his back resting on a holotable, staring out the windows. On the table was an animated tiger with large cartoonish gloves. They were playing chess, but the subject was not even looking at the board. It was astounding. It was not just that, but he made a move and put the AI in check. Not only was he not looking at the board, but he was doing so and winning.

I chose that moment to make my move. As with the previous subjects, I handed Lieutenant Keyes the bioscanner to record the interaction and activated the AI disruptor. The tiger flashed once and then went dark with the rest of the chessboard. The device would simply block the AI from being aware that this room ever existed, putting it into a loop for everything within the hall or room until I deactivated the device.

The subject turned around to look at the board and saw me standing in the door. He looked wary, but also curious. One of the rules of the school was that non-staff adults were not allowed into the classrooms when there were students present without an escort of a member of the staff. Evidently, Subject 078 was aware of this rule, too.

I walked into the room and crouched to sit on one of the child-sized chairs. I could tell that he was defensive and rightly so, especially if he knew what fate would befall him if I found him suitable for the program. I was also sizing him up. Not too trusting, not too suspicious, but cautious. Oh, also his left shoe was untied.

I asked him for his name. It took him a couple of seconds of him looking between myself and Lieutenant Keyes before he told me it was Jason. Then he asked me mine. With a smile, I told him that it was Catherine. Cover story be damned, I will not lie to one of my potential trainees.

The boy rolled onto his knees, placing the dark chessboard between us. He again glanced at Jacob and then to the door that lead to the teacher's office. The door wouldn't unlock with the block in place, but if he did run, it would cause an issue with my interview.

I asked him how he was able to play chess against the AI without looking at the board. He told me that he didn't know, but if he did look he would win too fast. He said that the AI was dumb and wasn't as good as some of his father's friends, so he had to do something to make it interesting. That was true, at least. His father was one of the instructors at the Corbulo Academy.

I replied, sincerely, that I wished I could play chess like that. It was true, and it might even give Dèjá run for her money. He told me that it was easy for him, but his sister thought it was both creepy and that he cheated.

I told him that it was because he was special and that it was fascinating. I reached into the bag then and activated the chessboard, including the voice-activated movement controls. I told him that I wanted to play a game of chess against him, just the two of us.

He agreed and the white pieces appeared in front of him. That meant that I would be going first. I was not planning on it happening as such, but the board had a suite programmed in. He leaned forward as I moved the first piece.

King's pawn to king four was the opening move. The board automatically moved the piece, sliding it across the holosurface. He mirrored my move with king's pawn to king four. He was good and it was a classic gambit, but I would not fall for it.

King's knight to king's bishop three was my second move. I was watching him, though, looking at the movements of his eyes and his level of concentration. However, I also asked him why he was not out playing with the other children. He responded that the teachers were punishing him, thinking he broke another child's arm. He also moved queen's knight to queen's bishop three.

King's bishop to queen's bishop four was my third move. I looked down at the board, hoping that he would fall for my bluff. Something was wrong, though. He was smiling at my move. He moved king' bishop to queen's bishop four and looked up at me. I am not used to being studied.

I looked up from the board, moving queen's knight to queen's bishop three, then asking if he did. He paused for a few moments then let out a sigh. He told me that he didn't. The other boy tried to push him off of the jungle gym while a group of them were racing to the top, but he grabbed the boys arm and they both tumbled. He then moved king's knight to king's bishop three.

I chewed my lip as I looked at the board. I hadn't had a game like this, against a live person, since I was in my graduate studies. At least with an AI, you know what you are facing. I didn't have many moves open to me, and recess was ending soon putting me in a time crunch, but then I spotted one. I moved king's knight to king's rook five. He immediately moves king's knight to king five and took my pawn.

Most children would be slightly triumphant at taking a piece from the board, but he just sat there waiting for my next move. He knew the goal of the game was to win and not just take pieces.

I asked him how the other boy fell, but he didn't. I also used his name. I shouldn't have done that. With what I am planning, I cannot afford to get emotionally attached to these children; these subjects. I moved king's knight to king's bishop seven taking his pawn. He moved his queen to king's bishop three. He also told me that he was able to catch himself on a bar before he fell too far.

King's knight to king's castle eight; takes castle. I asked him if he had done it on purpose. He looked up at me and caught my eyes. He responded by asking me if it mattered because he won the game. He also moved his queen to king's bishop seven, taking my pawn and placing me in checkmate.

His expression was completely void of emotion when he said that. I wasn't sure if he was talking about the game or about the race to the top of the jungle gym. The look was both terrifying and exciting at the same time. I knew there was a chance for sociopathic tendencies in all of the subjects, but this was the first time that I had ever actually seen it.

My king on the board slowly toppled, signaling my loss. However, I smiled up at him. Seven moves total and he won. This was definitely one of the candidates for the program.

I was about to stand and walk away when I caught sight of something on his wrist. I asked him what it was and he presented it to me proudly. He told me that it was a wrist-journal that his mother gave him when he began school. She told him to keep daily journals for her. That was an intriguing idea, though I knew it could cause some problems. I would have to think about it for a while.

I stood and took a step back from the table. I thanked him for a good game and began walking back to Lieutenant Keyes. I heard him thank me, but didn't care. I took the bioscanner back from Jacob and reached into my purse to turn the block off. The subject's movements caught the sensor and turned the internal lights on. The sound of the hologram moving its chess piece came from the classroom, as well.

We made our way back to the spaceport then, but I definitely approve the subject for inclusion into the program. If there is a god, I can only hope that one day she will forgive me for what I am going to do to that young man. When we arrived at the ship, I activated the retrieval team.

* * *

**SUBJECT RETRIEVAL REPORT…**

**ACQUISITION TEAM: **078

**TEAM COMMANDER: **HICKS, LANDIS DANIEL, SSG, UNSCMC (SN: 54126-57655-OR)

**0304 hours, September 5, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Circunius System, Circinius IV, New Constantinople**

The subject was asleep when we entered the residence. I made sure to use the narqahol gas in the room of the subject's sister and mother before the rest of the team entered. The subject's father was not present, but intel had him on field maneuvers with the Academy for the entirety of the week. However, I left a spotter in the van to warn of any onlookers.

CPL Tanaka entered the subjects room to get positive identification. I walked over and stood in the doorway as Sergeant Martin read the biodata readings that the Corporal was taking.

I would have been more comfortable to have been able to use the narqahol on the subject, but the project director refused, saying that it could have some possibly side-effects when combined with the cryo process.

The subject turned and looked at me, but there was no alarm in his eyes. He must have thought I was his father. I put my fingers to my lips and shushed him, which made him loosen his muscles slightly. CPL Tanaka gave him the injection of derpathomine.

He looked at her, but she was already moving out. I heard SGT Martin whisper that the package was incoming. I stepped forward and lifted the subject out of his bed. I carried him into the hall and past the flash-clone being carried in my SGT Brown.

The subject wasn't entirely unconscious by the time I walked him to SGT Martin, who took a bio reading of the subjects left thumb. It was positive identification through DNA and fingerprint. SGT Martin marked the subject as acquired and I carried him out to the van. He finally fell asleep when we were halfway down the stairs.

Acquisition complete.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**DR. HALSEY'S NOTE:** _As I said in my original interview notes, I saw that Subject 078 was wearing a personal journal bracelet. This gave me an idea on how to log and track subject experiences for the reports I am required to give ONI. Against the wishes of CPO Mendez and the objections of Dèjá, I am giving the subject a new journal bracelet. However, this bracelet is of a sturdier design provided by ONI to the program at my request._

_Dèjá, upon examining the journal bracelet that ONI provided, found a rudimentary tracking AI and flash download package that was added contrary to my specifications. However, she and I have accessed the firmware contained within the item and successfully reprogrammed both to be available only to myself. Rather than trust any of Franklin's team with the journal, I am instead giving it directly to Doctor Eir to give to subject 078._

* * *

**2200 hours, September 23, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, UNSC Flying Dutchman in low orbit over planet Reach**

A loud mechanical noise woke me up. Everything around me was blurry and cold. I reached out and struck a metal surface, but there was light coming from somewhere. Leaning forward, my head struck something solid. Squinting, I could see the light was coming through a window of some kind over my head.

Another mechanical sound echoed around me and the wall split opened. Light flooded in and I slammed my eyes shut. I wanted to ask what was happening, but I couldn't breathe. Well, I could, but only short gasps because my lungs felt full of something. I was starting to panic.

I heard a woman's voice telling me to take a deep breath and cough, but it sounded distant and muffled. Warm hands grabbed my shoulders and leaned me forward. My back unstuck from what I was leaning on and it felt like something was being stirred in my chest. Was it my mother telling me that? It was uncomfortable to try and breathe in anything but short gasps, but I didn't want to disobey her.

I forced myself to take a deep breath and felt like I was squeezing a water balloon behind my ribcage. I couldn't control the resulting coughs and leaned into the hands. Another breath and warm liquid passed my lips with the coughs. There was a slight popping sound as my ears cleared and I could hear the liquid splattering on the floor. One more coughing fit cleared my lungs, but left a sickly sweet taste in my mouth.

I blinked a couple of times as the hands pushed me back onto the soft pad. It wasn't my mother. She was wearing white clothes and a long white jacket. Her short blonde hair seemed to bob just above her collar and her glasses were small and black framed. There were bits of light flickering across the lenses like the heads-up glasses teachers wore. Her jacket symbol, a stick with wings and snakes twirling around it, meant she was a doctor.

I asked where I was, but my voice was cracked and hoarse from the coughing. She dismissed it with a shushing noise and gave me an injection from a gun-like thing. That was when I noticed the second figure standing in front of me.

The man's clothing was a mix of grays, browns, and greens that seemed to blend together in my lightly clouded vision. The shoulders of his jacket were dark gray and he had a name tape on his chest. It was a military uniform. His hair was flat on the top and close on the sides, like the officers who worked with my dad. He always used to say that the military would help me if I was in trouble.

I asked the man what was going on, but he just stood there watching me. The doctor gave me another injection and this one hurt. I tried to get out of the pod, to move away from her, but the man reached down and put his hand in the middle of my chest. He told me not to move as he pushed me back against the gel pad.

There was more coughing coming from around the room. I had to squint, but saw that I was not alone. The walls were lined with strange coffin-like pods and they were all open now. I remembered a room like this from some of the military holoshows dad let me watch. They were called cryo pods. The Navy used them for space travel. Did I travel through space?

In front of each pod that I could see, there was a doctor and a soldier. One of the doctors turned to get something from her tray and I saw a girl with funny colored blue hair looking around like I was. But, she didn't have any clothes on. I looked down and saw that I was naked, too.

I felt my cheeks start to heat up and asked the doctor where my clothes were. She told me to wait and put a small cylinder against my upper arm. When I asked why, she just shushed me again and looked at a display on the back of the device. She looked up at the man and nodded, then told me to step out of the pod.

My butt and legs seemed to peel off of the back of the strange mattress. When I took a step forward, the doctor grabbed my arm to keep me from falling. The floor was cold, but the room itself wasn't. She reached up with her other hand and gave me another shot. This one cleared the last of the clouds from my eyes and made my heart beat a little louder and faster.

She slid a small tray forward with some clothing on it; a pair of elastic-waist pants and a jacket. They were the same dark gray as the man's shoulders. I quickly pulled on the pants and zipped the jacket up. They didn't feel like cloth, though. They were more like paper after it was crumpled over and over. However, they were warmer than being naked.

She held up a pen with a light on the tip and told me to follow it with my eyes. Mom told me that I should always do what doctors said. Then she felt my wrists and ankles. I asked if I was okay and why I was there. I was kind of worried that I might have been sick because she was injecting me with things.

She looked up and told me that I was fine before nodding at the man. She pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to me. It looked like my journal bracelet, but it was a little heavier. I put it on my wrist and heard the man clear his throat. With that, she stood up and walked out of the room, taking the same door as other doctors that were leaving. One of them, about five pods down, handed a small silver disk to a kid before leaving.

I asked the man beside me where my mom and dad were, but he didn't answer. Just then, one of the girls pushed away from the doctor in front of her with a little scream when she zipped her jacket closed. The woman in uniform grabbed her arm before she got more than two steps away. The girl flailed and fought against the grip, growling like an animal. The doctor gave the girl another injection just above where the soldier was holding her, and the girl stopped struggling. She still looked scared, though.

I looked up at the man in front of me. He was watching the scene with his arms crossed. I looked over at the door the doctor left through and the man told me not to try it. He still wasn't even looking at me, but I knew he'd grab me just as fast.

When the last of the doctors left the room, the man reached down and took hold of my upper arm with a loose but solid grip. He told me to come along and started leading me to a door on the opposite side of the wall that the doctors exited through.

There was an observation room above this one, but it was dark. I remembered from all of the movies that it was supposed to have people in it. I wondered why it didn't, but thought better than asking. I really didn't like to be shushed.

The man kept a firm hand on my arm, just like the rest of the soldiers held the children next to them. Everyone was quiet as we walked through the ship, but that didn't stop us from looking around. The pace was enough that I had to almost jog to keep up with the man next to me, and I wasn't the only one.

The man told me to keep up as I slowed down a little to look at a room we passed. It has a bunch of tables in it, but I couldn't see anything else because of their quick pace. Most of the other room had the red light of a locked door next to it. I didn't think they had to lock doors in the military, though.

After passing a few bulkheads, the man finally let go of my arm, but put his hand on my shoulder. It reminded me of how dad walked with me through crowded stores. I flexed my arm a little, but decided against trying to run. I wouldn't make it far and there was nowhere to go. Except for the room with the tables, all of the other doors were locked and the bulkheads were closing behind us as we passed them.

After what seemed like a kilometer of walking, we emerged into a hangar. There were five Pelicans sitting in the middle of the bay, facing the large closed doors. Each Pelican had the troop deployment pod, making it longer and fatter. I only knew about that because of the toys my dad bought me. Their rear doors were opened and the adults were leading all of the children to them. I was being taken to the middle one.

I've seen plenty of hangar bays in the holomovies, but they were never this empty. There were no fuelers, no techs, nobody but the seventy-five children and the seventy-five adults. Even the control room was dark, which I thought meant that nobody could lift off or land.

The man pushed my shoulder and told me to keep moving, but he also called me a trainee. Why was I being called a trainee? What was I training for? Where were my parents and sister? I knew he wouldn't answer me, though, so I didn't ask any of those questions. I just kept walking, knowing that he'd grab my arm if I slowed down.

We went up the ramp of the Pelican and I was sat next to a boy in the front of the compartment. The man reached down and snapped a seatbelt around my waist. A girl with brown pigtails was sat next to me and was similarly belted. The man walked over to the other side of the ship and sat, securing his own seat belt. I tried the buckle, but it was locked somehow.

There were fourteen other children sitting on one side of the Pelican and ten adults sitting on the other. The five adults who came in last were standing in the center of the bay holding straps attached to the ceiling. Each of the boys was lead in by a man and each of the girls was led in by a woman. They all wore the same uniform, but had different rank pins on their collars. I was wrong before when I called them soldiers, they were actually Marines and Navy. All of us kids were in the same pants and jackets, too.

The man who led me in was named Hicks according to his nametape and he was a Marine Staff Sergeant, having three stripes and a rocker on his rank. He was shorter than some of the other men around him, and one of the women, but looked a little tougher. His hair was blond with a little red in it. He was watching me, but also seemed to glance around at the other kids. His mouth was curved into an almost curious smile and his blue eyes weren't as hard as the others. He was especially watching the girl at the very end who was fighting with her seatbelt, the same one that tried to run in the cryo room.

There was a vibration through the craft as the door closed. There was no light and the girl next to me gasped and grabbed my hand. At the same time, the engines began turning on with a dull roar that soon rose to a high pitched whine. The ship moved a little forward and I looked at the closed door to the pilot compartment. The only button that was lit was a very dim red one saying that it was locked. The light panels inside the bay came on, bathing everything in a red glow. It was really odd because it made all of the adult's clothing turn the same gray color as ours.

There was a quick roar and we were all pushed against the person to the right as the transport accelerated out of the hangar. Gravity dropped away with my stomach, but I kept myself from puking. Towards the end of the ship, one of the boys threw up. A couple of the adults smiled after it happened and exchanged looks and chuckles between themselves.

The shipped rolled, reminding me of a rollercoaster my big sister took me on once, and then began to vibrate and shudder. The girl next to me squeezed my hand as the boy on the other side let out a whimper with his eyes shut. Down toward the end, one kid screamed and another let out a whoop at the thrill. A moment later, the floor went back to being down as the ship entered a planet's gravity field.

It lurched again and turned slightly. The bay became noticeably warmer, especially the floor, as the ship cut through the atmosphere. It actually felt good to my bare feet, but my toes were still cold. The rumbling stopped and the ship felt slower. It tilted and then everything felt extremely heavy for a moment from rapid deceleration. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, the ship lurched to a halt and the engines began to cycle off. One of the adults at the back of the ship pulled a towel out of a small compartment under his seat and threw it at the boy who vomited.

When the engines were completely silent, the light in the bay turned green. Hicks already had his seat belt off, as did the other adults, and used a small key to unlock my buckle. One of them hit a button at the rear of the ship and the ramp opened. The air that blew in was crisp and had a strange smell to it. I was lead out with a hand on my shoulder.

All five Pelican's had touched down, though the fifth was still cycling down its engines, on a field in front of what looked like a school building. The grass was damp on my bare feet and the gentle hum of insects could be heard as the last ship's engines became silent. It was dark, but not so dark as to be dangerous for anyone walking around.

On one side of the sky hung two moons, huge compared to the three in the sky at home. The smaller looked like a misshapen asteroid with a dull gray glow. The larger had rings and gave off a blue-green glow. However, the constellations didn't look anything like what I was used to seeing.

When the last Pelican began disgorging its passengers, Hicks lead me toward the building. There were lights on inside, but they were dim. They gave enough light to see everything in the hall, but it was all shadow. There were pictures and display cabinets on either side of the hall. Some of the other children tried to slow down to see them, but the adults continued to guide them forward. I asked where we were going while looking at a picture of a man in a uniform like my dad's, but I just got a hushing sound from the Staff Sergeant.

Around a corner, the lights were brighter and there were guards standing in front of a pair of double doors. Two guards for each door, wearing Marine armor and carrying rifles, just like at the academy. Both had serious looks on their faces and didn't move as Hicks stopped us right in front of one at the very end of the hall. The woman never even twitched and I started thinking she might have been a statue.

I looked up at Hicks, wanting to ask what the guards were for, but I didn't like being shushed so much. So, I just looked over the armor the woman was wearing. It was different from normal Marine armor, and so was her uniform. Rather than being the normal greens and grays, it was entirely black. It reminded me of a dream I had before I woke up on the ship, but I shook the thought out of my mind. I was tired and didn't like the way my mind wandered without sleep.

The woman moved suddenly, which seemed to snap most of the children out of their reverie. She placed a hand on the side of her helmet for a moment then replied with "eye eye." Without another word, she side-stepped out of the way of the door a moment before it slid into the wall. The other Marines did the same thing.

The room was bright and reminded me of a classroom. It had a high ceiling and seemed to slope down towards a stage. There weren't desks, but long benches that curved around the room up from the stage like a theater. However, what drew my attention were the three figures on the stage.

The first was a hologram of a woman with black hair, a gold hairband, wearing a white sheet and carrying some kind of flat rock like teachers carry a datatablets. The second was a man wearing a black naval uniform that had lots of ribbons and badges on it. The third was the black-haired woman who had visited me in school, but now she was wearing a white lab coat and glasses. Was she a doctor?

I was ushered to the fifth row with Hicks behind me on the next row back. A firm hand pushed me seated next to two other kids. A couple of the others tried to stand, but the adults sitting behind them just pushed them back down. I glanced back at Hicks and he let a bit more of a smile lift his mouth and shook his head. The girl who tried to get away on the ship tried to get up again, but the woman behind her pushed her back down and kept a hand on her shoulder, fingers curled around her collarbone like my dad did when I misbehaved.

The woman on the stage cleared her throat, which pulled my attention back to her. The man behind her hadn't moved from standing with his arms crossed and the hologram looked from her to all of the children and then back to her. She said something about Naval Code 45812 and that we were all conscripted into the UNSC special project that was codenamed SPARTAN-II.

Her words seemed almost like a house AI, without emotion or anything. I wanted to see my parents so they could explain what was happening. I tried to stand, but Hicks' hand forced me back down. Others did and their voices sounded like the cafeteria at school all together. I turned and saw that the Staff Sergeant had his other hand pressed to his lips making a shushing sound before point back toward the stage. I looked over and saw that the girl now had a hand on each shoulder and the woman's knuckles showed that she was holding her down rather firmly.

The woman on the stage took a step forward; the move drew my eyes again. She said that we had been called upon to serve, to do what others were unable to do. Each of us had been selected because our bodies were faster, stronger, and smarter than anyone else. And they were going to make us even better.

The other children in my school used to pick on me because I was better at almost everything than they were. My parents were told that I cheated on tests and I was never able to play sports because I was better than everyone else, so that meant I must have been cheating. If all the other kids here were just as good as I was, then maybe we could get along. And, if these people wanted to make me better, then maybe I would stay here for school.

She said that we were going to be trained and would become the best they can make us, that we would be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies. That made me even more interested. Earth was everyone's home from what my teacher told me; of course it should be protected. If I could be trained to protect it, then that is what I wanted. I sat up straighter, just like my teachers all told me to do to show that I was paying attention. I heard Hicks move slightly behind me, but felt his hand come off my shoulder.

She said that it would be hard to understand, but we couldn't return to our patents. None of the children liked that much, especially not me. I didn't try to move, because Hicks would probably grab my shoulder and might squeeze, but also because the woman sounded serious about that. A couple of others tried to, though. They were sat right back down. I did exchange glances with the girl next to me, and she tried to lean forward before getting up, but the woman behind her grabbed her forearm and pulled her back into her seat.

The woman on the stage told us that this place would become our home and our fellow trainees would be our new family now. She said the training would be difficult and there would be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead, but she knew we would all make it. If the woman was a doctor, then she must have been right. Not to mention, my mother said that I could do anything. This woman was saying the same thing, but she also said that I wouldn't be able to see my parents or sister again. But, if these others kids would be my new brothers and sisters, then maybe I could live with that. I didn't know, though. It was all confusing and I was really tired.

She told us to rest now and that we would begin tomorrow. She turned to the man behind her and called him Chief Petty Officer Mendez. She told him to have the children, but stopped herself. She then said to have the trainees escorted to the mess hall, feed us, and then put us to bed. I didn't know what a mess hall was, but my mother used to call my room a mess all the time. Maybe that's where we all slept, but why would we eat there too. Also, if it was a hall, why would we sleep or eat there? We were supposed to sleep and eat in rooms, right? I was confused and hurt. Too much was happening too fast. I knew that I wouldn't cry, though, as much as I wanted to.

He told her yes and called her ma'am before taking a step forward and yelling at us. He called us trainees and told us to fall out. I didn't know what he meant by fall out, but Hicks had called me a trainee before and the woman called us all trainees, too. It was then that the Staff Sergeant lifted me upright and began moving me with everyone else out of the room.

The one girl had stopped fighting and instead had a quivering lip and tears down her cheeks. She wasn't the only one; there were others who looked about to cry. Others looked angry or, like me, confused. I was moved with the rest of the kids out of the room and back into the halls. After a couple of turns, I saw a light at the end, through some double doors.

As we got closer the sign over the door became clearer, reading 'Mess Hall.' Inside, it looked like a cafeteria. There were tables in the center of the hall with four chairs per side. Along the walls were empty counters like the cafeterias at school. However, the tables already had trays laid out on them. I was motioned over and sat in one of the chairs. Looking back, I saw Hicks just stood there, like the rest of the adults.

The food tasted good. I didn't even realize how hungry I was until I started eating. There were two cups of water, one with grape flavoring in it. I downed the regular water first, though. There was even a chocolate bar for desert! The only utensil was a brown plastic spoon, but I used it to eat everything on my tray.

When I was done eating, I looked around and yawned. Others had tried to get up, but were kept seated by the adults. A couple had their heads propped in their hands, falling asleep. Then, as the last kid finished eating, the adults pulled everyone to their feet. I was quick, though, and stood up without Hicks having to lift me. He didn't even react, but just lead me out of the Mess room without a word.

We went down a couple of halls to another set of double doors. These ones opened into a huge room, twice as big as the auditorium. It was dark, except for the lights over a bunch of strange pods. There were seven rows of eleven pods, but the first two spots near the door were empty. There were yellow lines surrounding the pods on either side with two sets of three digit numbers like at the library. I was walked to the center pod in the fourth row. The pod had the number 078 illuminated on the front.

The pod turned out to be a bed. There was a light inside, under the roof. The bottom had a sloping pad under a mattress thing that reminded me of gym mats. It was suspended over the bottom at the head with the very top part sloped like a pillow. There were no sheets or blankets, though, there was clear plastic covering the sides. It was also twice as long as I was, like my sister's bed.

When I finally lay down, the light inside the pod turned off and Hicks turned and left. When the last of adults were gone, a couple of others looked around before finally falling asleep. I sat up, and the light came on inside the pod, though the glass didn't retract. I noticed a girl sneak down the center of the hall toward the doors. Not too long after, a boy did the same thing. I was too tired to try and decided to update my journal before I fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**0530 hours, September 24, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, Reach, Reach Military Complex**

Mother opened the curtains, flooding my small room with light. It was too early though, especially after the strange nightmare I had last night. I must have kicked my blankets and pillow off last night while I slept, because I didn't feel when I rolled over. I buried my face in the crook of my arm, trying to block out the light and yelling.

Lightning struck my foot. The shock left pain and flailing muscles in my leg as it traveled through my core. My chest tightened and my arms shot out. It completed its travels by shooting out of my mouth with an incoherent yelp. The entire process took less than a second and caused me to roll off of my bed and onto the slanting pads below.

I looked up and met the eyes of Hicks, the same man from the night before, who yelled for me to get up and stand to. There was a stick in his hand that looked like something the police carried, but the end was bristling with electricity. He yelled move at me three times as I tried to pull myself out of the strange pod. Finally, he reached forward and seized my collar, hoisting me in front of the bunk. It took me only a moment to recover, the sudden shock that the dream was a reality flooding into my now conscious mind.

Hicks pointed the silver baton at the foot of the bed to the yellow line that surrounded it. He yelled at me to toe the line, standing with my big toes touching it. He was right in my face when he did it and his breath smelled like stale coffee. I looked to my right and saw a girl there with her feet touching the line and did the same. There was a small arrow pointing to the bunk that I centered on.

Hicks moved to the next pod, the boy still fast asleep. He yelled for the boy to rise and shine and reached into the pod to touch his calf with the end of the baton. The boy jerked awake, but didn't yell. He scrambled out of the pod and onto the line that the Staff Sergeant was indicating. With minimal yelling.

Hicks yelled out eyes front and pointed the end of the stick at me. Even being a couple of steps away, I swung my head around to concentrate of the pod in front of me. Then, there was a new voice in the room. This one was louder.

He said his name was Chief Petty Officer Mendez. The voice was clear even over the cracks of electricity and yells of the adults. He said the rest of the men and women were our instructors. We would do exactly as they told us at all times.

He lowered his voice to that of the rest of the instructors, yelling at someone nearer to him, asking if they knew which was was up and calling them a boot. I noticed that everyone seemed to be awake and now standing on the yellow lines that were in front of their beds.

I heard a woman behind me yell out eyes front. I whipped my eyes back on the pod, but felt a blast to my ribs. I couldn't breathe as the electricity flew through me, knocking me to the floor. I stood and stared ahead at the pod, not even thinking to look anywhere else. The woman continued walking down the row, yelling the same thing before shocking the girl's thigh in the pod cattycorner to mine. She fell down with a squeal before standing and staring straight ahead.

Chief Mendez yelled out again that the showers and the head are aft and we would wash and return to our bunks to dress. I didn't know what aft was and was wondering whose head was in the showers. It made me shudder, not wanting it to be mine.

A solid sound came from behind me and I heard Hicks tell me to look. I turned my head and walked over to the small drawer that the Marine opened on the side my bunk. Inside there were rolled pieces of clothing behind little labels: underwear, t-shirts, shorts, and socks. Beside those were three layers of folded sweatshirts and sweatpants. Finally, there were two pairs of black boots sitting beside one another. Each item was carefully rolled and folded. The chest of the sweatshirt had the stenciled name JASON-078 on it.

Mendez yelled out again for no slacking and on the double. I looked up to Hicks, ready to ask what Chief Mendez meant when the man hit my thigh with the shock stick. I picked myself up and saw the woman who had zapped me earlier standing in the middle of the walkway between the bunks, pointing the other trainees to the rear of the room.

Mendez yelled out that he meant it and then yelled go three times. I ran with the other recruits through the doors into the head, which turned out to be the bathroom. There were three instructors lining kids up in front of a urinal and toilets. The toilets didn't even have doors on them like I was used to in school. Instead there were only curtains. When finished, the instructors directed us to a row of sinks along the opposite wall.

I was tired and scared. I didn't show it, though, as the line slowly moved forward. The dull aches of the shocks were still on my skin. One of the kids asked what I thought was going to happen to us. I was about to say that I didn't know when I was hit with another shock and fell next to the boy who was also shocked. The woman who shocked us said, not quite yelling, that she didn't want to hear voices in her head. It would have been funny except for the pain from being hit with the baton.

There was an instructor standing between two sinks when I finally reached it. He pointed to a disposable toothbrush dispenser on the wall and told me to brush them all and not to miss any. He had his hand resting on the end of the baton as it sat in a loop on his belt. The toothbrush tasted minty. I threw it into a hole on the wall when I finished and moved aside as the kid in front of me had done. Two steps and I felt a hand on my shoulder turn me in the direction of five lines in front of the showers.

A female instructor was telling everyone in the lines to take off our clothes and throw them in a barrel between the lines. I did as I was told, but felt cold and uncomfortable. I wasn't the only one. Another instructor told us to step onto the belt with our toes on the yellow line. He wasn't yelling, but his deep voice seemed to echo around the walls more than the other instructors. He also said to hold out our arms and not to move until we got to the end.

The floor of the showers moved like mom's treadmill, but it was slower and there was no bar to hold onto. I stepped forward and made sure that my toes were directly on the yellow line. As I moved, a spray of warm water hit me from every angle, like when dad took the car through the wash. The soapy water burned my eyes, though. I reached up and rubbed them, but made sure to keep my arms up in the process. The second spray was ice cold, but washed off all the soap. Finally, there was a gust of air that threatened to push my arms down, but also succeeded in getting me totally dry.

Two instructors stood at the end of the showers and one told me to open my eyes because he wouldn't want me falling for no reason. He had a smug smile and was swinging his baton around by a cord that was wrapped around his wrist. The other one wasn't as nice, yelling for me to get back to my bunk and get my uniform on. Her finger was pointed toward a set of double doors and there was an angry fire in her eyes.

I ran as fast as I dared. The bottoms of my feet were still wet and threatened to slide on the smooth floor. I saw Hicks out of the corner of my eye and turned for what I thought was my bunk. The trunk was still open and my name stared out at me from the sweatshirt. A moment later, a girl ran beside my bunk, but turned the other way for hers. Others were running past too, but I ignored them so I wouldn't get shocked.

I pulled out the black underwear first, but they weren't like what he was used to wearing. Instead, they were a not-quite tight pair of shorts. A black sleeveless t-shirt went on next and a pair of loose-fitting gray shorts went on after that. Hicks yelled at someone to tuck their shirt in. I didn't know who he was talking to, but pushed my shirt tighter into the waistband of the shorts before grabbing a pair of socks.

I turned and sat on the edge of the bunk, pulling one leg up to put a sock on my foot. Hicks turned and yelled that bunks were for sleeping in and not sitting on before touching his baton to my hip. The shock sent me to the floor again with another yelp of pain. However, I was able to recover faster than before and pulled my socks on. The left one was a little difficult since my foot was still twitching from the shock.

The sweatshirt and pants were next. Both were dark gray. The yolk of the sweatshirt was purple and it had a bit of a collar with a split front. There were two purple padded stripes across the top of each shoulder and patches on the top of both sleeves. The right was the UNSCDF patch that was on the flag, but the left was something different. It was a shield shape and had an eagle in the center. The eagle was holding three arrows in one claw and a lightning bolt in the other. Over its head was a star. JASON-078 was stenciled onto the right side of the chest, just below the yolk. However, there was also a strange upside-down triangle on the left side. It was metal and seemed to be part of the sweatshirt.

I pulled out the boots. They were kind of heavy and had a thick sole, just like my dad's. They fit me better than any shoes I have ever owned, though. They also zipped up the front rather than tying. Hicks yelled that my trousers would be bloused when I wore them, then explained that meant tucking them into the top of the boots. I did so, making sure that they weren't in too deep that they'd pull my pants down when I stood up.

Hicks yelled for me to toe the line from behind the boy in the next bunk. He was on the ground, shocked for sitting on her bunk like I was. I jumped up and lined the toes of my new boots up with the yellow line, looking closely at the back of the pod in front of me.

I don't know how long I was standing there when the louder voice started yelling again for us to go outside, then triple time march. I didn't know what that meant, but Chief Mendez wanted us outside, so I started running toward the doors in the front of the room. My eyes were still burning a little from the soap, but I was moving with everyone else. Mendez was also moving outside, but he was walking in the middle of the hall.

He called us trainees again and yelled that in case we had forgotten, he was Chief Mendez. He reached over and shocked a girl who was walking while everyone else was running. He said that he was our commanding officer. He shocked a boy on the other side of him who was also walking. He told us that this was our life now.

It was dark out on the field, but there were lights on that lit it like the stadium on my sister's game nights. The moons were no longer at the end of the field and the Pelicans were gone. A couple of fighters flew over and there were sounds in the distance like explosions of the holos that dad let me watch when mom wasn't home.

When we were outside, he said told us to follow him as he turned and started running. I had to push a boy in front of me so I could start running. There were a couple of kids who didn't and they got shocked. We reached the edge of the field when he looked over his shoulder and called out for us to get our legs pumping, calling us trainees again. He turned down a road and yelled that we had a long way to run today.

We ran by some jeeps with guns on the backs in a parking lot across the street from the building and there were trainers running around us. A couple of kids tried to run away from the group, but the trainers hit them with the batons and ran them back to the group, yelling. If someone started to lag behind, they would touch them with a baton and yell at them to catch up after they stopped twitching. We were only running around the building, but it was a huge building.

Mendez turned around and began yelling back at us that every day from dawn until dusk we would do what he said. We turned the last corner back to the field. He said that we would do it when he said and how he said and then asked if he was clear. Nobody answered. I know that I didn't because I was too busy gasping for air. He turned all of a sudden and yelled halt, which I knew meant for us to stop.

We were back in front of the building and all of us were trying to catch our breath. He said that when an instructor asks us a question we would answer it and asked if he was clear again. I said yeah with some of the others, but that didn't seem like enough. The instructors seemed to come from everywhere at once, all yelling at the same time. A girl next to me, who hadn't responded to Mendez, was shocked. The woman who shocked her was yelling at the both of us. I couldn't understand her because I had a man yelling at me in my other ear and one more behind me, too.

From the front, I heard the Chief Petty Officer say that when we are asked a question, the first and last words out of our mouths would be sir and if we understood what he meant. The instructors were still yelling, but I called out "Sir, yes sir!" Everyone else did the same. The instructors stopped yelling and moved back to the perimeter of the group.

He told us to make five equal rows of fifteen trainees each. Five instructors were standing to one side and began yelling that we should get in line with them. Others were moving between each row, yelling more. Over the din, I heard Mendez calling out for people to straighten the rows, asking if someone knew how to count to fifteen, and for someone else to take three steps back.

I was in the second row, about five people from the instructor. One of the trainers pulled me a little further away from the boy next to me. I glanced down to make sure that my toes were on the same invisible line as everyone else's. Looking back up, I was in line with the person in front of me.

He shouted that we would start with side-straddle hops, also called jumping jacks, and would count off to one hundred. When he said ready and go, I began doing the jumping jacks with him. He counted to three, but didn't reach four. Then he did it again.

A woman behind me yelled out that I wasn't counting and I felt a shock in the small of my back that knocked me over. After five or six others were also shocked, someone told us to count once for every time he paused. I stood back up and started counting. She yelled that she couldn't hear me and I should sound off like I had a pair. I didn't have any idea what she meant. Did I miss something when I was getting dressed? I finally got the hang of it and yelled out the number during each pause. Everyone else did, too.

The boy in front of me said that he didn't want to do jumping jacks anymore. He had darker skin than me and his hair was cut close to his head. He stopped and one of the instructors ran up and hit him in the stomach with the shock baton. The boy hit the ground, coughing. As he stood up, the instructor snarled in his face that he should get with the program and called him a boot. The boy began jumping.

When we finally reached a hundred, my arms and legs were burning. I had never breathed that hard in my life and I could hear my heart beating in my ears. I reached up and wiped the sweat off of my forehead because it had already begun to run into my eyes.

Mendez barely paused, then yelled out sit-ups and that we would count off to one hundred and not to slack. I dropped to the wet grass and got my arms crossed over my chest and my legs out like the Chief. He yelled out that the first crewman who quit got to run around the compound twice and then came back to do two hundred sit-ups. He finished with ready and count off before counting to three again.

I sure didn't want to be the one to run around this building twice, so I started doing sit-ups like he said. I was also confused. Was I a trainee, a crewman, or a boot? I didn't think about it for long because I had to keep counting and forcing myself to move.

We just kept going like that for what seemed forever. It was horrible. We did a hundred squat jumps and then a hundred knee bends. Some kid threw up in the third row then an instructor ran up to him and started yelling at him. He wasn't the only one, though. I didn't but only because I don't think I had anything in my stomach to actually throw up. We did a hundred leg lifts after that.

Mendez was doing all of the exercises in front of us, too. I kept trying to do them, but I couldn't. In the end, everyone was grunting and groaning to try and force themselves to finish. If I stopped, I knew I would get yelled at and shocked. Finally, though Mendez told us to rest and told the trainers to get water.

I was lying on the grass, wanting to get up, but my arms wouldn't move and neither would my stomach. I just rolled onto my back on the wet grass, trying to catch my breath. The sky was starting to get brighter and the lights had turned off. One of the instructors walked by and dropped a bottle of water on my stomach. It was heavy and made me cough and double over on my side, to which she said that I should move faster next time.

I sat up as best as I could. My stomach didn't want to work from the sit ups. When I finally got seated, I opened the bottle and gulped it all down. It was warm and salty, like my older sister's sport drinks but without the sweetness or flavor. I only stopped to take a breath once before finishing it. It was starting to warm up a little with the sun rising. I used to watch my sister do exercise when mom took me to pick her up from sports camp, but it was nothing like this. Everyone around me was sweaty and it soaked through their clothes just like mine.

Mendez yelled out that it was a good start. His clothes didn't look sweaty, but it might just have been because of the camouflage color. He told us that now we would run and for us to get on our feet. I wasn't fast enough and one of the trainers hit me between the shoulders with their baton while I was almost up. I got up from the ground as fast as I could after that and didn't get hit again. The trainers walked in front of us with trash bags and we threw the plastic bottles in them.

We started jogging off the grass and onto a gravel path by the buildings. The instructors yelled at anyone who started to slow down. We ran to a road and followed it for a long time. It was further than I have ever run in my whole life. We went by a river, across a bridge, by a large paved area that looked like a runway, and on a crooked stone path.

I had a pain in my side and was really hungry, but all I could think about was to keep up with the girl in front of me and not fall behind. There was a boy in front of me earlier who started getting slower and a trainer ran up and hit him with a batons. He then told me to catch up with the girl in front of me. Someone further up got hit with the baton and tripped a couple of people behind him, but the girl and I both jumped over him and now she was in the front of the line. She had blue hair and was a really good runner.

Eventually, we ran toward what dad used to call a cull-duh-sack with a flagpole and some grass in the middle of the road. It was really tall and had a huge flag hanging on it. There wasn't much wind, but I could see the blue of the flag with a circle on the upper right. It looked like the flag from the Academy where dad worked that flew near the tether.

We came to a stop in front of a big building that looked like pictures from the history book we had in school. On the front of the building was a sign that said NAVAL OFFICERS ACADEMY. It had pillars and a sloped roof and actual wooden doors. In front of the doors, standing just under the roof, was that hologram that was on the stage last night. She told Chief Petty Officer Mendez that he did excellent work and welcomed us. She said that her name was Dèjá and she would be our teacher, then invited us in and told us that class was about to start.

I didn't want to go to class; I wanted to go back to bed. I was really tired and my legs and side hurt. I wanted to go home. Everyone else did too because we were all groaning. She turned and the doors opened up for her. Just as she started to walk inside, she looked back and told us that if we preferred to skip out lessons, we would continue the morning calesthenics.

The Chief was smiling at us, but it was a really creepy smile like a bully. If what we had been doing all day was calisthenics, then I wanted to stop and rest in class. I ran up the steps with the rest of the kids. Everyone slowed down as we got in the doors. We were walking behind her down the hallway, even though she wasn't really there.

One of the boys asked if she was an AI. The girl with the blue hair said she was and that she saw one once, but never that close. Another boy called her beautiful. He was right. Up this close, I saw that she had little lights circling her head and her tablet kept changing with some kind of computer code on it.

The hallway was amazing. It had wood walls that were decorated and carved. There were glass display cabinets with starship models and swords and hats in them. The walls had framed flags and pictures of men and women in uniforms. All of the doors were also wood, but there was nobody in the offices behind them. I heard some of the kids talking low to each other behind me, but none of the trainers shocked them.

Déjà stopped in front of a set of double doors that opened as she got near. She stepped aside and waved us in. It was a classroom, but not like any classroom I had ever seen before. The walls were all wooden, like the hall, and there was a large UNSC flag on the back wall that was the same size as the one on the flagpole. The desks were on either side of the sloping aisles. In the front of the room was a huge table with a slightly glowing white top with a pattern of black hexagons on it. However, the best thing about the classroom was that it was cooler than outside. She appeared in front of the class and told us to come in and that class was about it start.

On every desk was a tray. It had a pack of graham crackers, small multi-colored soft candies, another bottle of water like the ones we were given after exercising, and a one-quart carton of milk. I ran down to the front of the classroom and sat down at the desk next to the aisle. I liked being in the front of the room, my teachers said that I could learn better there. The chair was wood, just like the desk, but it felt like the most comfortable thing I have ever sat on in my life. I slouched a little and relaxed. On the other side of the room, I heard a girl comment on the food and how much cooler it was in here.

After a few seconds of just relaxing, I felt my stomach grumble at the fruity smell of the candies, so I started eating. The crackers were a little stale, but they tasted good. The fruit things were sweet and squishy and got stuck on my teeth. I didn't know just how thirsty I was until I started drinking the milk; I drank it all down without even stopping to breathe.

After a minute or so, listening to the other kids eat, I rested my head on my hands and wondered if I was allowed fall asleep. I didn't even know what time it was, but it felt like I had been running all day long. The girl next to me tried one of the fruit pieces and made a sour face. She asked me if I wanted hers, and I accepted. I ate them slower than mine. They didn't exactly taste like fruit, but they were sweet.

One of the boys a few seats away said that he would just be happy to sleep. Dèjá called him John and said that if he slept, he'd never learn about Thermopylae. I had never heard about whatever that was in any of my classes, so I sat up a little straighter. My muscles were sore, but I just tried to ignore them by opening my water and taking a few sips. One of the boys asked what it was, but couldn't pronounce it. Dèjá told him how to say it right and called him Sam as the entire front of the classroom, just over the top of the table came to life with holograms of mountains and hills next to a sea.

She said it was a long, long time ago, back on Earth, in a country called Greece and that Thermopylae was a very narrow strip of land between steep mountains and the sea. The image spun to show the pass. She said the strip of land was guarded by Spartans, fierce warriors who were trained to fight since they were children. That was the same thing the woman called us last night.

The image rapidly closed on a single figure. He was bare-chested and heavily muscled. He wore a bronze helmet and leather underwear, which was kind of silly. He had leather gauntlets and bronze armor from his knee to his ankle. He wore sandals and a red cape. There was a sword on his belt, but he carried a huge shield and a short spear. She said that it was well known that no one could beat the Spartans, but that did not stop Xerxes the Great from trying. The scene shifted to show a large army marching toward the pass.

She said that Xerxes wanted to steal Greece from the Spartans, and his forces numbered in the thousands and that there were only three hundred Spartans. The three hundred men appeared and walked into the pass in lines like we lined up in when we were doing the exercises. When they stopped, they all hunched forward and made their big shields overlap. The only thing that I could see from the front was there helmets and the armor they wore on their lower legs. Each one also had their spear ready in the crease of their shields to stab people in front of them.

I counted as the scene spun behind them and they were standing in four rows. That meant there were seventy-five in the front. The scene shifted over their heads and I saw hundreds of angry men running at them with swords and spears. They were shouting, but I could hear Déjà over them saying that the battle should have lasted minutes with Xerxes as victor but instead, the Spartans worked together and, the conflict stretched for three days and ultimately they saved Greece.

She continued explaining what was happening, but I was too busy watching the battle to listen. My parents never let me watch anything like this on the holovision. The scene turned and zoomed to show the fight as the army hit the line of shields. The Spartans never moved, but stabbed above and below their shields into the huge group. Sometimes, the guys in the back row would jump up and spear the men over the shield line. The attackers were cut down as the defenders worked together to protect each other and kill everyone in front of them.

When the first group was all on the ground dead, there was a whistling from near the far wall. They were shooting arrows at the three hundred. There were so many arrows that I couldn't even see the ceiling of the classroom anymore. Rather than run, the men crouched and lifted their shields. They started laughing at all the arrows. We started laughing too because of how easily they protected themselves from what should have killed them.

After the arrows, more guys came to attack them, but they were cut down like before. I watched them killing the people with spears and swords, blocking other attacks with their shields. It was amazing and really bloody. If mom and dad knew that I was watching this, they would be really angry.

Déjà told us how they protected each other. She taught us about their tactics and how they won the battle. She said that in the three days it took the Persians to win, the rest of Greece had time to prepare their defenses. As the last of the Persians died, the Spartans all cheered. I was so into it that I cheered too, and so did everyone else in the class.

The hologram faded and Dèjá appeared in front of the class telling us that was all for today, but we would continue tomorrow and she'd show us some wolves. She added that she thought we'd find understanding wolves to be very important, but now it was time for us to go to the playground.

This was the best class I have ever had. She began to lead us out, but told us to stop to use the head. I stood and my muscles felt stiff and sore, but I also felt invigorated from the class and that we were going to a playground. No matter what my body felt like, I still wanted to climb a jungle gym so I could rest on the top like I did in school. While I was waiting in line for the bathroom, I decided to record the morning's events on my journal.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**1000 hours, September 24, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, Reach, Reach Military Complex**

I ran outside with everyone else and saw Chief Petty Officer Mendez and the other trainers waiting for us. The Chief yelled that we needed to get back into five lines. Everyone ran fast to line up and nobody was shocked. He walked up and down all of the lines to make sure they were straight, but I didn't hear anyone getting hit with the batons.

He pulled out his baton and told us that it was the Humbler stun device or shock stick. However, for us, it was a motivator. He explained that it was meant to instill discipline in us and to correct our actions should we do something wrong. He said it was non-lethal and did no permanent damage.

I heard a kid behind me say something about how much it hurts and then heard the crack of one of the motivators used on him. Chief Mendez told us that there was no talking in formation and if we did talk, we would be punished along with the person to our left and right for not stopping us. I heard two more pops of the stun stick, one followed by a girl letting out a small scream.

The Chief put his shock stick back in his belt and told us that the Playground was just a short run away. With that, we began running again. At the road outside the cul-de-sac, we turned in the opposite direction from how we entered. After another corner, we ran down a road that slowly curved to the left and seemed to go on forever. A sign at the beginning of the road said it was 3.2 kilometers to the Playground.

The boy next to me, when he saw the sign, started to say how far away it was, but I hit him hard in the shoulder and so did the person on the other side of him. He yelled out not to hit him and was rewarded with a shock to the shoulder. I was ready to get shocked, but it didn't come. Instead, I just heard the instructor tell the girl behind him to catch up and fill in the gap.

We rounded one more corner and came to a stop in front of a hill. It was really hot out and I was covered in sweat again, but not running felt better, though. That's when I noticed the hill we were in front of. It was steep and completely dirt. There were a bunch of rocks sticking out of the dirt and a couple of weeds that were trying to hang onto the loose soil. Beside the hill was a staircase. Chief Mendez told us that we had to climb the hill to reach the Playground and that if anyone fell, they would be shocked and have to do it again. He then yelled for us to go and started walking up the stairs.

I ran up and had to wait to start climbing behind about five other kids. Most of the rocks were stuck in the dirt deep enough that I could use them to pull myself up and stand on, but some were not that deep. I almost fell twice, once when a rock came loose and again when a kid slid into me. I was almost to the top when a kid stepped on my fingers causing me to slide most of the way to the bottom. I was able to catch myself but dislodged two others who did fall all the way and got shocked. I was finally able to get all the way to the top of the hill and pulled myself over the edge.

I rolled away from edge a couple of times and just lay on the ground, trying to catch my breath. My arms and legs were sore, tired, and burning. And instructor leaned over me and asked if I wanted to get shocked. I told her sir, no, sir. She smiled and said good and then yelled for me to get on my feet and back in formation. I pulled myself to my feet and ran back in line.

I leaned over to catch my breath and saw that I was completely covered in dirt and dust from the hill. Anywhere that sweat had soaked through my clothes was completely brown, and that was most of my clothes. I wasn't the only one, either. Almost everyone's clothing was the same mottled shade of dirt.

I just wanted to lie down and go to sleep, even if it meant getting sunburned. One girl knelt down near me and an instructor yelled out that we were to stay on our feet unless we wanted a reason to be on the ground. He reached out and hit her with the end of his motivator in the shoulder. There were a couple of other pops and yells, as well. Finally, the last of the kids made it up the hill and we started running again.

The playground wasn't much further away, but it would have been quicker if we hadn't climbed the hill. It was back off of the road through some trees on a gravel and dirt path. We slowed down to a fast walk, what Chief Mendez called a quick time march, to reach it. However, when it came into view, I knew that it wasn't going to be like a school playground.

It turned out to be a huge rectangular pool of water with twenty-one old-time communication wire poles coming out of it. Each pole had two wooden platforms around it, half-way up and about a meter from the top. Between the poles and platforms were all kinds of ropes. Some were rope nets, some were monkey bridges, and some were just single ropes tied between them. Up to the platforms, it wasn't much different, with rope ladders, ropes with knots, and just normal ropes. It was amazing.

Chief Mendez told us to get into three lines, telling the fourth and fifth lines to break off. The instructors moved in and started yelling when people weren't moving fast enough. I was in the second line, so I didn't have to move. Mendez yelled out that each row would be a different team number (mine was team was number seven) and asked if anyone didn't understand.

The boy to my right was kind of pale, but he had sandy blonde hair and freckles. His sweatshirt, barely visible through the dirt, showed his name as GARY-150. The girl on the other side of me was a different story. She had longer hair that looked brown, but I couldn't tell. All of her looked brown from the dirt. Well, except for a line of pink on her forehead. Her name was CHRISTY-081 and I think she was the girl who kept trying to run away last night on the ship.

The game was called Ring the Bell, Chief Mendez yelled out as he pointed to a bell up on the highest pole at the end of the pool. The poles were in the water in an even pattern of four wide and five long, with the bell pole centered at the end and about ten meters higher than the rest. There was a metal slide pole next to the platform that landed in the water.

He said that there were many ways to get to the bell, but he was leaving it up to each team to find their own way. As I looked at the course, he continued, saying that when every member of our team had rung the bell we had to get groundside double time and run back to him across the finish line. He used his shock stick to draw a line next to himself.

A boy toward the front of the teams, one or two, raised his hand. The chief looked annoyed, but called on him. He asked what we won. Mendez called him 117 and told him that we won dinner, explaining that tonight dinner was roast turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, brownies, and ice cream. I made a murmuring of hungry approval as the boy next to me whispered said he definitely wanted to win. The girl just licked her lips.

Mendez said that for there to be winners there also had to be a loser and that the last team to finish would go without food. He told us to make ready, but I already was. I was looking at the playground and drawing a line up to the bell just like I did some of the holomazes that the AI at my old school tested me with sometimes. I looked to the boy and girl and told them to follow me. Both nodded, but the boy looked worried.

When Mendez yelled go, I ran around the pack of kids to the side of the first row of poles. There was a knotted rope leading to the first platform and a sloping wall with little rows of wood like one of my neighbors used for their chicken coop. I climbed it and waited for the rest of my team. I grabbed a rope over my head and used it to keep my balance as I walked on another one tied diagonally to the next lower platform. We were about two meters over the water and I was already hearing kids splashing below. I looked back and made sure it wasn't Christy or Gary.

At the second row, I crawled across a cargo net that sloped up to the third series of platforms. It was kind of skinny, though, with only three squares. I heard Christy squeal and looked back to see her legs falling through the net. She was able to pull herself up, though and we got to the third upper platform. This one had another platform between it and the fourth row, but it was swinging a little. Another boy came up a rope ladder and jumped onto the platform before we could and it swung wildly, causing him to fall into the water five meters down.

I waited for the platform to swing closer before running and jumping onto it. I grabbed hold of the arm on the side that was connected to a bar between the poles. I looked back and yelled for the other two to jump on. Christy did next and I had to grab her to keep her from falling off. Gary timed his jump better. We swung the platform back and forth a little more and I jumped to the fourth upper platform. Christy made the jump better this time, but we both had to catch Gary to keep him from falling.

I heard the bell ring three times and looked up to see the kid, 117, standing with a self-satisfied grin on his face. I ignored him and went back to my mental map. We all walked across a monkey bridge to the center set pole and then had to cross two ropes that were side-by-side diagonally to the next and pulled tight to get to the fifth row. They were about fifty centimeters apart, and I laid on them, carefully keeping myself centered. I got a little vertigo, though, because there was nothing between me and the water.

Carefully, I pulled myself across and then helped Gary and Christy up. There was a cargo net tied onto between this pole and the next, but this one was vertical. I almost fell twice before I started wrapping my hands through the net when moving to the next hole. Gary and Christy were behind me, though. The bell rang a few more times, but I didn't care. I was still hearing splashes which meant we weren't last. We all climbed up the rope ladder to the bell platform, rang it, and then slid down the pole into the water.

The first thing I noticed about the water was how cool it was. The second thing was that it was deeper than I thought it would be. It was extremely refreshing and felt good on my aching muscles as I swam the short distance to the edge of the pool. Gary helped me out of the water and we both ran to catch up with Christy to cross the finish line. Mendez made a note on his clipboard and told us to take a seat, indicating a small patch of grass to the side of the path. I walked over to it and gladly fell onto my butt with the rest of the kids who crossed the line ahead of us.

An instructor tossed each of us a bottle of the same salty water. I caught it, opened, and drank it all down without stopping. We were the fifth team across. Well, the fourth, the kid whose shirt read JOHN-117 was the only member of his team across. I finally introduced myself to Gary and Christy and they asked me how I was able to figure out a straight line to the finish. A couple of others were curious about that too. I told them about how good I was with mazes and stuff, but John said that I was just lucky and that if I was so good, I would have come in first like him.

I ignored him and watched the rest of the kids on the Playground. One, after ringing the bell, missed grabbing the slide pole and fell all the way down into the water. I heard one of the instructors make a huffing sound while shaking his head at the sight, most of the kids giggled at it. The boy got out of the pool and ran across the finish line smiling. He said that he made it and missed an instructor tossing him a water bottle. It struck him in the forehead and knocked him down. His shirt said his name was MURPHY-133.

Mendez said we had done good work and it was time to go back to the barracks to chow down. I stood up and helped Gary and Christy to their feet as everyone cheered. I noticed that the dirt on most of our clothes was now mud, though. It didn't matter; my sweatshirt was wet and felt cooler in the heat of the sun. Then, Mendez said all except team three. John argued that he had won and was first. The Chief said that he was first, but his team came in last. He told us to remember that we didn't win unless our team won, that one person winning at the expense of the group meant that we lost.

The run back to the barracks was even longer than the run to the Playground and classroom. We passed a fenced-in yard filled with jeeps and tanks and other vehicles. The fence has curled wire on top of it whose metal points shined in the sun. I was able to keep up with the rest of the group until then and ended up getting shocked. It didn't damped my spirits any, though. I came in third place at the Playground. No, WE came in third place at the playground. Gary and Christy were my team. And that woman said last night that we were all a family now. I wondered what my mom and dad would think of Gary and Christy.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, we finally arrived back in front of the barracks. Once there, everyone was given a brown plastic bag called and MRE. Inside were several smaller green pouches filled with food and another bottle of that salty water, but this one was flavored. Chief Mendez showed us all how to use the heater tabs and then told us that we had fifteen minutes of personal time to use the head inside the building and eat. I watched Gary and Christy's MREs while they went to use the head then they watched mine while I ran in to relieve myself.

My MRE was called lemon pepper tuna. I knew that tuna was some kind of a fish, but that's about it. It was really close to what we had eaten last night, right down to the brown plastic spoon. The main meal didn't taste that bad, but it was really filling. I wrapped it in the tortillas it came with and added the mayonnaise and spice packet. The other pouches had crackers and nuts, which I mixed together and ate, and a vanilla pound cake. Finally, there was also a strawberry shake in it! After we finished eating, we were shown how to pack them up for garbage and threw them away when the instructors walked down the line with plastic bags.

The instructors lined us up for a class called drill and ceremony while Chief Mendez ate. We were shown how to stand at attention and what commands were used to call us to attention. We were also taught how to stand at parade rest (which isn't really resting) and how to stand at ease. When we began learning how to turn right, left, and around, some people were shocked for not knowing their left from their right and turning the wrong way. We were also shown how to salute.

Chief Mendez came back and taught us how to march in time, which meant everyone stepping at the same time. The instructors shocked people for walking out of step or for moving out of place in line. I wasn't shocked, though. By the time we had learned how to march, the sun was going down.

All of a sudden, music started to play over the speakers on the front of the building. Chief Mendez called us to attention and told us to salute. It was a single horn playing the song and the Chief had us hold our salute until it finished playing. When it finally stopped, he told us that the music meant they were lowering the colors, or taking down the flag. He told us that we were to stop whatever we were doing when we heard the music at night or in the morning, unless we were in combat, and salute toward the flag or the music.

We were formed up into a single file line after that, with John and his team in the back of the line. Only one person was shocked for not moving fast enough. After that, we were marched into the mess hall in step, including at mark time march, which means in place. Two kids were out of step and shocked for it. When we entered the mess hall, the trays were piled high with all of the food that was promised. It smelled wonderful as we were told to line up behind our chairs. The three in the rear of the formation were sent to a table at the far end that had three jugs of water on it. He told us to dig in and left the room.

Dinner was amazing. I ate so much turkey and gravy; it was just like the Thanksgiving dinner mom made. The brownie was still hot and had a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of it, melting into it! I finished eating and looked back at an instructor. She told me to wipe my mouth and stay seated. I wiped my mouth and saw that I had chocolate around it, as well as some dirt on the rest of my face. I also drank down both cups of water (the flavored one was cherry) and the one-quart of milk. When everyone was finished eating, we were told to stand and put our trays into the cleaning slot in the wall.

Everyone was led back into the squad bay and told to go back to our racks and toe the line. After a couple of minutes, Hicks showed up and told me and the guy in the next pod to take off our boots and put them in front of our bunk. After that, he told us to run back to the showers. Just like this morning, the instructors had us put our clothing into a barrel between the lines and go through the showers. I didn't realize how dirty I was until I looked at my hands. They were almost brown with dirt and stood out to the pale skin of my wrist where the sweatshirt covered. Unlike this morning, though, I kept my eyes closed in the shower until I felt the air stop from the drier.

I half-ran back to my bunk and got dressed again. Hicks told me and the boy in the next bunk not to put on the sweatshirt, sweat pants, or boots. Unless we were told otherwise, the evening uniform was only underwear, t-shirt, shorts, and socks. Then, he showed me a small plastic case with a strange looking bird on it behind the second pair of boots. He said it was called a shine kit and that I should take it to the front of the room with my boots.

A woman trainer had us all sit in a semi-circle around her and open our shine kits. She showed us what each item in it was and how to use it. The brown stiff brush was used to get the dirt off of our boots and the small brush was used to smear on the black polish. The white cloth was used to work the polish into the leather and then the black brush was used to wipe off what wasn't worked in. Finally, the tan cloth was used to buff the boots until they shined. The instructor told us that when we were working the polish into the boots, to spit on it to thin it out and work it in better. By the end of the class, my boots were black again and were kind of shiny. She told us that the goal was to get the boots to look like hers, which looked like black glass.

After we were done polishing our boots, we were told it was time for lights out and had to brush our teeth again and wash our hands. After taking care of business, I crawled into the bunk pod and let the lights shut off around me. After the instructors left, just like last night, the boy and girl snuck out of their bunks and left the room. I made my journal for the day, ending it with a great many yawns, and then fell asleep. I don't even remember lying down first.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**0530 hours, September 25, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, Reach, Reach Military Complex**

I felt like I had just fallen asleep when the lights came on again. I heard the yelling of the instructors and the snaps of the shock sticks, but I couldn't move. I opened my eyes and tried to move my arms, but my muscles felt like rubber bands that were about to snap. I tried to roll over and crawl out of the pod, but not even my legs wanted to work. It felt like I was trying to move against weights pinning me to the thin gel mattress.

The shock hit my right calf and made me scream. The scream wasn't from the pain of the electricity, but from my muscles involuntarily straightening. My arms shot out to either side of me which is the only thing that kept me from rolling into the crevasse on either side of the pad. I looked up to see a dark-skinned woman eyeing me with a fire in her eyes. She yelled at me to rise and shine and toe the line. I moved, through my screaming muscles to stand on the line in front of my bunk as she moved on.

The boy in the next bunk didn't fare much better than I had. He had to be shocked to wake up and shocked a second time when he didn't move fast enough to get out of his bunk. She told him next time he would un-rack faster. I didn't see it, though. I was too busy staring at the bunk in front of me. I was still tired, but was staying awake listening to the cracks of electricity, the yelps of other children, and the yells of instructors from around the bay. I knew if I started to fall asleep, the next shock would be me.

The female instructor called out my number and the boys and told us to look at her. She was standing in between the bunks in front of ours and telling us to move like she was. She rolled her head around on her shoulders in one direction then in the next. It pulled a little at the tops of my shoulders, but they felt better when I had finished. The next was wind-milling my arms around to the front and back, then my hips like I was using a hula-hoop, then leaning down and rotating my knees and ankles. Every movement made me sorer when I first started it, but afterwards it felt better. The instructor told the two of us that it was called stretching and that we were to do it whenever we felt sore in the mornings, but after stand-to.

I heard Chief Mendez yell out from the front of the room that we were getting better, but still had more to learn. He yelled out that we needed to hit the head, clean up, and get out into formation. I was able to make it back into the shorter line for the urinal but then got stuck in one of the longer lines for the sink. The instructor between the sinks told me to brush my teeth, wash my face and hands, and rub a strange gel stick under my arms. It was like what my sister used to do before she went on dates, but I didn't argue with the instructor.

I ran back to my bunk and put on my sweatshirt and sweatpants, but when I grabbed my polished boots, the instructor told me to wear the other pair, alternating them every day. I told her sir, yes, sir and sat on the floor to put them on. They weren't as shiny as my other pair, but they felt just the same. I tucked my pant legs in and the instructor crouched down and told me to fold my trouser leg tight around my ankle and put my boots on that way, it would look better and be more comfortable on my ankles. She was right, too. I ran without them pulling my sweatpants down and I didn't feel it pinch my skin around the top of the boot.

When I got outside, the Chief was facing away from the building. I got into line in the second row and assumed the position of at ease, like we had all been shown yesterday afternoon. When the last of the children ran out (we could look around when we were at ease), Chief Mendez snapped to attention and called everyone to fall in.

I remembered that we were supposed to fall in on the commander, so I immediately ran forward and lined up. Behind me, I could hear instructors that were yelling and shocking those children who hadn't been paying attention yesterday. I was second in line and went to attention in front of the chief. The girl next to me, in the head of the formation, was shocked for not falling in to center the formation on the commander.

Just like yesterday, the chief had us run around the building. It felt harder because of my sore muscles and I got a stitch in my side half-way through the run. I didn't slow down, though, and an instructor ran closer to me and told me to take deep breaths and stand up straighter to work it out faster. For the calisthenics, we did hundred counts of knee lifts, ski jumps, cross-country skiers, squat jumps, and finished with push-ups. One girl refused to do the ski jumps, saying that she was in too much pain, and an instructor shocked her and made her run around the building twice. They got back just in time for her to collapse and do the push-ups.

We ended just in time for the music that meant they were raising the colors. I think it was even worse than yesterday because everyone had to jump to their feet immediately after exercising to salute. My arm was shaking for no reason just holding my hand to my eyebrow and I had to force myself not to let it drop. When the music stopped, though, we got water. After everyone was finished with their drinks, we ran to the classroom.

The run to the Academy was the same route we took yesterday, but was just as hard. I still didn't have the strength to do anything more than run with my eyes on the person in front of me. There were more snaps from children who couldn't keep up and more grunts of exertion from those who were keeping up. In the end, it was hotter this morning than yesterday when we finally arrived at class. Dèjá was waiting for us as before.

Rather than just dismiss us, Chief Mendez had us march into the school in columns. When we were in the classroom, however, Dèjá told us to relax and eat, that we would begin classes after breakfast. The air conditioned room felt better on my muscles and the hard wooden chair felt like the thickest mattress I had ever slept on. The breakfast was the same, though. The girl with blue hair sat next to me in the front and I gave her half my crackers since she missed dinner last night. She thanked me just as the hologram appeared.

Dèjá was not alone, though. Around here were seven large gray wolves. Each one was about as big as any of the children in the class. Most were just lying around the front of the class, but a pair started walking up the paths toward the back of the class. One girl reached out to touch one in the aisle and it snapped toward her hand. She jerked it back fast with a squeal, even though it was only a hologram. The other one sat down next to me and looked at me with the most intelligent face I have ever seen on a dog. I held out my hand, slowly, with me palm up and it leaned forward and sniffed at it before walking back down to the front of the room.

Dèjá's voice was loud in the room, as she told us that wolves were fierce hunters. The room slowly grew into a glade around a small stream. A rabbit hopped out of the bushes and started drinking at the flowing water. Dèjá said that while any wolf worth his salt could hunt and kill a rabbit, then she paused as the wolf that sniffed my hand jumped out of the bushes and grabbed the rabbit by its neck. I heard a series of snaps as the animal shook the bunny back and forth, blood staining the wolf's maw, as it jumped back into the bushes to eat.

She continued that a wolf attempting to take down larger prey by itself, she paused while a moose walked out of the underbrush to the stream. A single wolf, the one up the other path, ran forward and jumped on the flank of the larger animal. The moose reared and swung its huge antlers around, knocking the wolf against the wall with a whining shriek. Before the canine could recover, the moose stomped down to end the wolf's struggles. The girl who the wolf snapped at made a retching sound at seeing the animal killed. Dèjá ended by telling us that they can face a grisly end.

She continued that when wolves hunt in a pack, as three of the remaining wolves appeared and started backing the moose into a corner of the class, they can take down large prey with little to no difficulty. Two other wolves leaped out of the trees onto the back of the larger animal. As it bucked them off, the three others moved in to attack. Before too long, one of the wolves bit into something vital on the moose's leg and it fell to the floor. Out of the woods walked the first wolf, blood from the rabbit still staining its mouth. It looked me right in the eyes as it leaped forward and tore a chunk of the moose's throat out. The animals bugle of pain was drown into a gurgling gasp as it died. The pack then began to eat the large animal right in front of us.

Dèjá walked out of the trees and told us that today's lesson was the opposite of yesterday's that she told us hot being outnumbered was unimportant but today she told us how greater numbers could lead to victory. She then asked which lesson was true. The boy who lost yesterday, John, spoke up that the number wasn't the lesson at all. Dèjá, sounding surprised, asked him what the lesson was. He replied, calling her ma'am, that the lesson was that teamwork was more important than anything else. She said that he was correct.

Class continued with Dèjá asking us more questions and showing us other ways in which a pack of wolves worked together to overcome adversity, including how wolf pups are raised by the entire pack and taught how to hunt by their elders. Even telling us that their play, while looking violent and like a fight, was teaching them to be better hunters for the good of the pack. Throughout the entire class, that one wolf kept looking me right in the eyes whenever it appeared. A couple times, while Dèjá was lecturing, it even came and sat next to me.

I asked Dèjá, after class, why she was making the wolf look at me and stare at me. She told me that she had programmed the wolves with simple personality profiles to mimic real wolves and what it was doing was not within her control. However, she would look into the programming if it was worrying me. I told her that it was okay and joined the rest of the class in line for the head.

We ran back outside and lined up in front of Chief Mendez, who didn't pull any tricks when he told us to fall in. We ran along the same route again to the dirt wall, but it had changed. It was no longer a dirt wall, but was instead a wall of mud. Someone had sprayed it down with water, quite recently because it was just barely starting to dry. He told us that the same punishment applied to those who fall and yelled out go as he mounted the stairs to the top.

I was one of the first to the wall and was halfway up when a stone I grabbed came loose and I slid all the way to the ground. I was shocked and made my back. One of the kids, Murphy, made it to the top and threw his fist in the air, but the edge gave way and he tumbled to the ground, dislodging two other people on the way. One of the instructors looked him over to make sure he was okay, then shrugged and shocked him.

I pulled myself over the edge at the top, but stayed lying on the ground and pulled others up. I heard an instructor walk over to me and standing while I pulled another person up. After a couple of seconds, wondering if I would roll off the top of the hill should I be shocked, the instructor just walked away. I wasn't going to stop pulling people up, though. Dèjá taught us that teamwork is the only way to win and I was planning on winning.

After everyone was up the hill, we continued to the Playground, but it was different now. All of the poles were high enough to have a third platform exposed about two meters over the water, and the middle row of the five was completely missing. The pole with the bell on it was even higher than the rest, so much so that the slide pole into the water ended five meters over the water. Also, the ropes were different. Most of the monkey bridges, rope ladders, and cargo nets were gone, replaced with baskets, pulleys, and swinging ropes between the gaps.

Mendez told us that we were to get into the same teams as yesterday. I was still staring up at the playground as Gary and Christy came over to me. I saw a good path, but I didn't know if we all could make it. I looked at them and asked how good they were at climbing a normal rope without knots. Christy smiled and said it was no problem, but Gary said he didn't know if he could or not. I nodded and was about to tell them to follow me when they both said it first. We all laughed, but a trainer told us to clamp down and get in line, but we weren't shocked.

Like yesterday, Mendez said for us to get ready and then go. I ran with them to the knotted rope and wall like before, but it didn't have the foot step things on it today. When we got to the top, we climbed a rope net that was only two squares wide up to the second level. From there, I sat in a hoop on another rope and slid on it over to the next pole. I threw the rope back and Christy came over followed by Gary. There, I climbed another rope that had knotted loops on it up to the top level. This high, the pole was swaying slightly with the movement from below. I stepped through a loop hooked to another pulley and slid down the entire length of the rope past where the third set of poles used to be. It took Christy and Gary some time to pull the zip line loop back up to the platform, but they made it as well.

From this platform, the only way across to the fifth row of poles was in a large basket. We all fit in it and started pulling the rope to get us across the gap. It was hard because we had to pull the other way because of the pulleys, but we got the hang of it and made it across. From there, we crossed a monkey bridge that didn't have any ropes to keep it together. I almost fell, but was able to keep my footing until I got to the other side.

This was the hard part because we needed to make out way up to the next platform and the only way to do that was a normal rope. Rather than have Gary climb it first, I grabbed it and held it close, telling Christy to climb up me and stand on my shoulders. She did and then Gary started climbing the two of us up the rope to the next platform. When he got up safely, Christy pulled herself to the top followed by me. I was tired and sore, but there was only one more thing left to do.

There was a rope suspended between this platform and the one with the bell. The gap was only about a meter, but we were a long ways up and I didn't know if I could make it back to here if I fell. I leaned out and took hold of the rope, grabbed it with all my strength, and swung across the gap. My arms felt like they were going to give out, but I landed on the other side without a problem. I turned and threw the rope back to Christy who swung across better than I did. Gary almost fell, but the two of us grabbed him in time. We were working together, just like the wolves.

We each reached up and rang the bell. I made sure that Gary and Christy rang it before me. After that, I made sure they went down the slide pole first. The fall was a little scary at the end because there was no pole to hold. I hit the water and, just as yesterday, was immediately refreshed by the cold and glad to use it to get the mud off of me. It was drying for some time and made me feel even stiffer.

Christy and Gary pulled me out of the water without my even having to help and we all sprinted across the finish line in front of the Chief. Mendez shook his head in an approving manner and made a note on his clipboard. That's when I realized that the three of us were the only ones that had crossed so far. The next team was just now ringing the bell. We all cheered and high-fived, but an instructor told us to calm down as she tossed us bottles of water.

John and his team came in third and they looked even more tired than we did. The girl with blue hair, Kelly fell down onto the small patch of grass after she caught her bottle of water and Sam, the other boy, fell next to her. I asked John how they got to the top and he pointed to the basket that was now sitting at the base of the bell tower. I told him that I didn't choose that route because I didn't know if we could make it with as much work as we had done. He said the same thing, but they worked together and did it. The boy in the bunk next to mine, Arthur, came in fourth.

After the last of the teams crossed the finish line, with the team that had the two kids who kept sneaking out at night coming in last, we ran back to the barracks. I didn't even mind the distance, knowing that we came in first place in the Playground. Not even the long run could take that from me. With the light breeze and my wet clothing, it even made me feel cooler in the heat of the day.

We got back and were given fifteen minutes to hit the head and eat MREs. Mine was beef stew and it came with peanut butter, jelly, and two slices of wheat bread stuff. It also had a not and raisin mix and pretzels. With the drink there was hazelnut cocoa, too. I ate it all down and didn't stop smiling, even when we were all called back into formation. Well, I got shocked for smiling in formation, and that kind of wiped it off of me. We were told by the instructor that we were supposed to keep a serious face during formations.

The instructor taught us more about marching after that. We learned how to turn to the left and right while marching and how to turn completely around. After that, we were taught how to do something called counter-column march, which was turning by columns to go the opposite direction. Most of us were shocked when we messed that one up. I got hit twice and was lucky that was all. One of the boys got shocked five times trying to do it.

Retreat started playing over the loudspeakers before we were finished, and we saluted. I was sure that I walked and ran more in the past two days than in my whole life. When the music stopped we were taught how to march properly into a column formation, which is moving into a single-file line without losing step. We used that to march into the mess hall.

Dinner was flat pasta with a white cheese sauce, chicken, and broccoli. There was a large piece of garlic bread on the side and peach pie with ice cream for dessert. I felt like I was starving, even more than yesterday, and ate it all down. I remembered something about my mom saying something about getting fat if I ate too much, but I was so hungry. After the last person was done, we were dismissed by table to put our trays in the cleaning slot and marched back to the squad bay.

I showered and took my boots and shine kit up to the front of the room for the class. While we were polishing our boots, we were shown how to properly roll and fold all of our clothes. One girl, right next to me, was shocked when she fell asleep. A boy across from me was shocked for rolling a pair of underwear too wide.

The lights in the bay finally dimmed and the instructor told us to clean up and get to bed. She said the next morning would be just as early. I put my boots and shine kit away and ran back to use the head one more time before I got in line to brush my teeth and wash my face and hands. Running back, I got in my bunk and lay down. The same two kids from the losing team at the Playground snuck out tonight, again. One of the instructors was going to catch them and shock them both. But, it wasn't my problem. I updated my journal and went to sleep.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

**0530 hours, September 28, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, Reach, Reach Military Complex**

As with the past week, the lights came on at 0530 hours. Unlike the rest of the week, I was wide awake and slid out of my bunk the moment they came on. I heard Arthur in the next bunk land on the ground like I did by the time I had my toes on the line. I wasn't entirely awake, but was enough to know that I should move or I'd get shocked. I just stood there while the fuzz slowly cleared from my head. Once the instructors made sure everyone was up, Chief Mendez would have them run us through the normal morning routine.

One of the trainers, a Marine Gunnery Sergeant named Gibbs, walked by and eyed me suspiciously as I stared intently at the bunk ahead of me. He just stood there and stared, trying to get me to look at him, but my eyes were locked on the bunk in front of me. I was waiting for the familiar, yet rare, pop of a motivator stun baton, but I heard none. This was the first morning that the snap and yelp didn't echo through the room, only the heavy boot falls of the instructors.

I woke up faster than I did the first couple of days, but I was still extremely tired. Chief Petty Officer Mendez has been working us non-stop every. Dèjá's class was the only respite and was actually fun with the holographic show that went with the lessons. Though, if this was what life in the Navy was like, then it really sucked.

From the front of the room, Mendez yelled out that we had exactly fifteen minutes to be standing in formation. This was something new. I heard some people run to the head, others just stood where they were in shock. I, on the other hand, decided to stretch and get dressed first rather than stand in line. When I got my boots zipped and made my way to the head, I noticed that about half of us had the same idea. But, I still had to stand in line for the sinks.

I ran out the door of the bunk room, through the short halls, and out the main doors. I noticed that there were about a dozen instructors on either side of the doors, just standing there. The rest were lined up behind Mendez. Well, not the entire rest, but the ones who were on duty today. Only half were on duty every day.

I got in formation and, much to my chagrin, was standing directly in front of Chief Mendez, again. I picked a spot about a dozen meters behind the middle button of his uniform jacket and stared at it. He and the rest of the instructors were just standing like statues at Parade Rest.

A few moments later, I heard a low beep come from behind Chief Mendez's back. The Chief snapped to attention and fell us in. Almost as one, all of the instructors sprang to life. I heard the first yells come from near the door, followed by about six simultaneous pops of motivators and the familiar sounds of their recipients.

The girl next to me looked back at the commotion. Without a word, Mendez stepped forward and touched her in the stomach with his baton. I kept staring where he had been for the three seconds he wasn't there. But, then he returned to the exact same position as before.

When the snaps and yells died down, Mendez yelled out that a cadence was called by the person leading a formation. He said the leader could call out a line and then the formation would reply with the line. Anyone not calling the cadence would be motivated and have to run around the formation. He then called out for us to left face and forward march! I followed the commands, as with the rest of the group, but I was confused. Something different was happening and I didn't know what it was. We marched a few steps before the Chief called us to double time and began to run.

We ran around the building in formation with Chief Mendez calling a cadence. At first, people weren't calling it loud enough. I wasn't one, because I remember the cadets from where my dad worked doing it. By the first turn, everyone was calling it fine.

Helljumper, Helljumper, where you been?

The first thing I noticed was that nobody was tripping over themselves or anyone else.

Feet first into hell and back again!

Everyone was staying in formation and didn't get out of their lines.

When I die please bury me deep!

Only two people were shocked for not answering the cadence.

Place an MA5 down by my feet!

However, they were singing the cadence with everyone else as they ran around the formation.

Don't cry for me, don't shed no tear!

The run actually felt easier and I didn't get winded.

Just pack my box with PT gear!

I had to breathe a certain way to call out the cadence, and it was helping.

Cuz one early morning 'bout zero-five!

Everyone was yelling out the cadence in time with their steps.

The ground will rumble, there'll be lightning in the sky!

I didn't even get the pain in my side like I normally did.

Don't you worry, don't come undone

It was the same run, but the cadence took my mind off of everything that I normally thought about while running.

It's just my ghost on a PT run!

By the end of the cadence, we had cleared half of the course and the chief was starting up with it again.

We returned to the front of the building and did a quick time march, which is regular walking, for the last few steps to where we had begun our formation. I was still breathing heavily, but it wasn't like the past week. The Chief instructed us how to get into a physical training formation. We spread out to the right, then left-faced and did it again, and then the second and fourth row took a step to the left.

I still had problems with all the exercises, but it was getting easier. I was able to keep up with all of the jumping jacks and didn't have any more problems with the leg lifts. Also, nobody got shocked for not calling out the count. I was even able to sit up after we finished, but that didn't mean I had enough energy to actually stand. We finished in time for the raising of the colors.

When we finished with the calisthenics, the instructors passed out vitamin water. We learned yesterday that it was not just salty water or unflavored sports drink. It had vitamins and minerals in it that helped us. It also had electrolytes and other chemicals that helped it to hydrate us faster. The crackers in class were the same way, fortified with various nutrients. Even the fruit snacks were multi-vitamins. The milk in class even had imuno-enhancers in it to help keep us from getting sick.

The Chief fell us in again. I was on my feet and running back into formation in front of the Chief. He stood there for a couple of moments before instructing us to pass our bottles to the right and for the column heads to throw them in the bags the instructor was carrying down the line. Normally we just left them on the ground, but today was full of new things.

We began running again with the Chief calling cadences. He was right next to me and I heard him actually singing them out, but I just yelled so I didn't get shocked. It was the same path we always took, so I kind of tuned out on the run and focused more on the words of the cadence and how to breathe so I could actually say them when it was time.

The girl in front of me, Adriana-111, wasn't yelling out loud enough and got shocked. When she fell, I tripped over her leg and hit the ground beside her. We both got up and ran around the formation before falling in at the back. I didn't have to, but I did because that's what teammates do.

Some of the cadences were strange and I didn't understand all of what was in them. There were also a couple that were funny. I liked 'Mission Top Secret, Destination Unknown' and 'Captain Jack and the Tether Track.' However, my favorite was Helljumper because I got to yell out a bad word while calling it. I was concentrating on the words to the cadences so much that I didn't even realize we were at the academy until the Chief fell us out.

After breakfast, Dèjá began teaching us about a man named Sun Tzu. Everyone giggled about his name until Dèjá told us how it was actually spelled and how many men it is said he killed. He was a general in ancient China on Earth and he treated war as an art form. He even wrote something called the Art of War that she said we would be covering in more detail over the next few days as it compared to different wars in history.

He trained the armies of Wu, a small ancient Chinese state on Earth, to fend off the invaders of Chu, a larger and better armed state. With an army of thirty thousand, he fought and beat an army that was ten times larger. Rather than preparing defenses, Sun Tzu decided to invade Chu. Avoiding the main army and attacking the softer targets like watch posts and border crossings, then fading away before the reinforcements arrived. Maneuver, surprise, and deception were his keys to victory.

Like all of the classes, the battles were in full detail. We saw their martial arts and weapons as they cut their way through the entire force of each skirmish. It would fade back after the battle to show the units as they moved, with Sun Tzu's in blue and the Chu army in red.

We studied several of his battles and how his tactics won them, even though he was outnumbered and outgunned. We went over the top three principles that he taught: Know your enemy and know yourself and you will never be in peril; as long as you know the tactics and capabilities of your enemy, as well as your skills and abilities, you'll win. To win one hundred battles is not the height of skill, to subdue the enemy is; you need to outwit your opponent, not outfight them. Finally, avoid what is strong, attack what is weak; don't worry about glory, only care about winning.

We were let out of class a little earlier than normal. Déjà didn't tell us why, but assured us that we would continue with Sun Tzu over the next few days. With that, we hit the head, and then formed up outside for our run to the Playground.

Mendez started us in the opposite direction from the Playground, though. I know everyone was running with a little more vigor because this was something different from what we usually did. The Playground was getting harder and harder with each day. Yesterday, there were only ropes with knots to climb and the two-rope bridges that made you hold onto one and walk on the other. It was confusing and my team was almost last because Gary fell off of a rope.

We stopped running in front of a building that we always ran by to go to the school. Mendez filed us inside and lined us up next to a wall. The front of the line was right next to a door. I couldn't see anything more, though because of how far down I was in the line. The first five people were told to go into the room and sit in the chairs. The line moved forward, like we were taught, to cover the empty space.

After a couple of minutes, the doors opened back up and the five came out without any hair. We were getting haircuts! Then I saw that even the girls had their hair cut off. Mendez told them to get into a normal formation with each of them in the lead of a row. He had the next group go in and I stepped up, second in the next group.

John was in the first group and I could see exactly what they did. His hair was already short, but now it was little more than fuzz on his scalp. Daisy was next to him and her head looked the same. At least John's black eye that he came here with was gone. Daisy looked like she was about to cry, but she didn't. Next to her, Kurt still had a cocky smile that he always wore; not even a shock from a motivator could wipe it off.

The next group came out and I began to file in, Kelly was right in front of me but she seemed to be walking slower. All of her blue hair was going to be cut off. I didn't mind my hair being cut because I always liked my hair short, but she looked back at me and was terrified. It was the first time I had ever seen her scared.

Inside the room were five chairs. Behind each chair was a Marine. Most were Gunnery Sergeants, but the one that Kelly was moving toward at the end was a Master Sergeant. We learned the various ranks from all the services last night while polishing our boots. When he saw Kelly moving toward his chair, he got a sour look on his face.

The Gunnery Sergeant I sat in front of put a sheet around me and began running the buzzing clippers over my head. There was a mirror in front of me and I could see Kelly in her chair. The Master Sergeant ran his clippers through Kelly's hair once when she exploded.

She elbowed him in the groin and turned to punch him in the eye. At the same time, she clawed her fingernails down his arm below where his sleeve was rolled. When her hand got to his wrist, she snatched the clippers out of it. He reached for her, but she was too quick. She slid out of the chair and ran for the door. Mendez was standing in the doorway, not even moving, and she turned and slid into a corner. She was holding the shears out in front of her like a weapon and sounded like she was growling.

The Master Sergeant growled out for help as he approached Kelly. The woman cutting my hair stopped and ran over to help retrieve the clippers. It took her and two of the others to hold Kelly down enough so that the Master Sergeant could get them out of her hand. They kept holding her as he finished shaving her head. She was half crying and half screaming at them. When they were finished, the Master Sergeant just shook his head and lifted the limp Kelly back to the seat to vacuum the hair off of her. She didn't fight him at all.

The woman came and looked me right in the eyes and asked if I was going to try fighting her. I told her no and focused on my own eyes in the mirror before me. She sighed and the anger left her face. The Gunnery Sergeant finished buzzing all my hair off and sprayed it down with some kind of water. It smelled minty and burned in a couple of places. She pulled the sheet off of me, ran a vacuum over the back of my neck and shirt collar then told me to head back to formation.

I ended up being the last one out of the chair and lined up on the outside of the formation with Kelly beside me. The Master Sergeant talked quietly with Chief Mendez while the instructors moved the next group inside. I heard Kelly sniffle a little and leaned over to bump her shoulder slightly with mine, to let her know that it was going to be okay. I heard her sigh and she bumped me back.

We weren't allowed to talk in formation unless we wanted to get motivated. So, to make sure everything as okay, we would lightly bump each other in line. The trainers didn't see it, most of the time. If they did, they just thought we were adjusting our weight or something.

Christy came out with the sixth group. Her head shaved and I couldn't help but chuckle a little. She rolled her eyes and bumped my shoulder as she walked past. The others finished up and the Chief marched us back outside by column.

Mendez yelled out that we were going to test our new aerodynamics at the Playground. He then told Kelly, calling her by her number, that she was going to be punished by running around the formation all the way to the Playground. She yelled out sir, yes, sir with more of an angry scream. There were still tears down her face.

An instructor passed out water to everyone and, after we finished drinking them down, Chief Mendez started us double timing. Kelly was able to stay with us the entire way, but I don't know how. She was probably the fastest runner out of any of us, especially when we did wind-sprints yesterday, but it was a long way to the Playground.

We arrived at the entrance to the Playground from the opposite direction we normally used. It looked different coming from the other direction, until we actually got on the path leading to it. Mendez finally halted us and Kelly looked about to drop. An instructor gave her another bottle of water and sent her back into formation. That was when I finally noticed the changes to the Playground.

It was set up very different from last time. Now, there were only knotted climbing ropes leading to the small platforms and single lines between them in a dizzy configuration. Not only that, but there were two walls set up blocking the view. The walls split the course into three parts. The biggest surprise was that the bell pole had a small platform around it about a meter down from the top and it had ropes securing it to the trees because it was higher than it had been.

We got into three lines with our teams and I had an idea. Déjà's class said that we should outthink our enemy. Well, I glanced at the ropes securing the bell to the trees and had a great idea. The closest one to the bell was all the way across the field, but the tree it was tied to was perfect for my plan and the rope was almost parallel with the ground.

When Mendez yelled go, Christy and Gary followed me across the entire Playground toward the tree line. Most everyone began climbing the various ropes in front of them, but not us. Christy asked me that the plan was and sounded worried as she glanced back toward Chief Mendez and the other instructors. I indicated the support rope as I lifted myself onto the first of the wide branches these pines grew. I told her that we climb the tree, shimmy across the rope to the bell, and win. Gary said that we were going to get shocked for doing it like this and probably break something from falling, but he was climbing right behind Christy.

We were almost to the top when Christy wondered out loud if we would be able to rest in the hospital with a broken arm. When I got to the rope, I told her that I didn't plan to find out. I slowly laid down on it like we were shown day before yesterday. One of my legs was straight down to balance me and the rope was sliding from my shoulder all the way down my leg to my ankle. I began pulling myself across the rope. I could tell when Christy and Gary were on because of how the rope shook from their movements, but I didn't fall. It was a very long way down.

It was about fifty meters from the tree to the bell, but felt like a thousand. It wasn't as level with the ground as I thought, so we had to pull ourselves at a slight angle upwards, but it was less pulling than if we had used any on the other ropes tied to the pole. On the way, I noticed that the bell slide pole stopped about twenty meters above the water. Also, there was a kind of maze of walls in the water to get out.

We reached the platform and pulled ourselves onto it. We each rang the bell and Gary turned for the pole. I stopped him before he could go down and pointed down. Christy looked at the maze, some of which would have to be swum under, and shook her head asking what we were going to do. I said that we were going to take the scenic route down and told them to take off their sweatshirts.

I took off mine and rolled it tightly as I could. I wrapped one sleeve around my hand and laid down on the platform. I wrapped my sweatshirt around the rope that lead closest to the finish line and wrapped the free sleeve around my other hand, tightly. Gary asked if it was a good idea as he was wrapping his hand with the sleeve. I told him no and slid off the platform.

I was moving a little faster than I thought I would be, but that didn't stop me from letting out a whoop of excitement. I didn't pick this rope to climb because it was only about two meters up the tree and was the longest line connected to the bell pole. The problem was that it was really steep, which I realized might have been a bad thing for going down it too.

Rather than crash into the tree, I let go of one side of the sweatshirt and fell. We were shown yesterday how to roll when you fall from heights, and I did. Though, I hurt my shoulder, but not bad because the ground was a little softer than I thought. I stood up and looked around just in time to catch Christy, and then Gary. We had to grab his boots but were able to stop him just before he hit the tree.

Chief Mendez asked us what the hell we were trying to do as we passed the finish line. We all snapped to the position of parade rest. I told him that we were trying to win. He made a face like something tasted bad in his mouth and then shook his head. He told us to do push-ups until the next team crossed the finish line. We all called out sir, yes, sit before dropping down. We began four-count pushups, yelling out the count together. We were up to thirty when the next group crossed.

Mendez looked over and told us to recover and relax. An instructor tossed us bottles of water as we rolled onto our backs and sat up. We didn't talk, but there wasn't anything that could take the smiles from our faces. First place again.

An instructor walked over to the Chief and they began talking. Not long after, he turned and made his way to us. I thought we were going to get punished again, but instead she crouched down with a smile. Her rank was Navy, Petty Officer Second Class. She congratulated us, much to our shock, and told us we thought outside of the box. She pointed to the tree we almost crashed into and I noticed that there was something under a camouflage net on it that looked like bark from the front. She told us that there were similar pads on the other trees and the ground had pads under the grass beneath the ropes. She stood back up and the smile dissolved as she yelled at us to get back into uniform before she motivated us. We each put our sweatshirts back on as quickly as we could. Gary ended up with his on backwards, but fixed it with us and a few others laughing at him.

After the last team crossed the finish line and drank some water, we formed up and began running back to the barracks. Kelly had to continue running around the formation. She may have been the fastest, but I wasn't sure if she could keep it up all the way back. Mendez continued to call out cadences and let some of the other instructors call cadence, too.

When we finally got back to the barracks, Kelly looked like she was about to die. An instructor gave her another bottle of water and we were given MREs. Mine was a chicken fajita. I put the fajita, refried beans, and jalapeno cheese spread, and seasoning, on the two tortillas it came with and ate it. It also had nuts and a fudge brownie. I washed it down with the drink and also something called an irish cream cappuccino that was in it.

After we finished eating and policing our trash, we began training in something called Movement under Fire. It was how to low crawl, high crawl, and three second rush. After we practiced each of the movements, we were brought back into formation and had to bet back into our teams. Mendez told us that it was a race with the losing team also missing out on dinner, and that there would be motivation to get the movements right.

Five of the instructors walked out of the barracks carrying rifles. Chief Mendez said that they were loaded with Tactical Training Rounds and that they had a red dye that would stain and stiffen our clothing and make anything they hit go completely numb and paralyzed for a few minutes, simulating a hit and that it should encourage us not to get hit or we might be last.

We had to low crawl to one point, high crawl to another, and then do a set of three-second rushes to the far side and then turn around and do it all again. If we were too high during the crawls, not moving fast enough, or if we rushed over three seconds, a trainer would shoot us in the arm or leg.

I stayed up for too long during a rush and got shot in the leg. It hurt for a second and then went numb. I couldn't move my leg from the knee down, which made it tough to rush properly. Gary took a shot to the arm during high crawl, too. However, we were able to come in fifth place. John's team came in first, even with all the running Kelly had done.

During a rush close to the finish line, Murphy tripped over a divot in the grass. An instructor was trying to shoot him in the arm and ended up hitting him in the head. Mendez yelled out that no team crossed the finish line until they all crossed. So Jorge had to go back for him. He used Murphy like a shield on his back and ran across the line without stopping. I think Murphy got shot about five or six more times as the instructors were trying to hit Jorge.

The feeling came back in my leg after five minutes or so and it took Murphy nearly fifteen to finally come around. I'm not sure what was worse, the fact that I lost feeling in my leg or the pain from where the round impacted. I could feel a bruise already forming where I was hit. I didn't even want to think about what kind of bruises Murphy had.

We marched in to dinner and I was surprised to find a good sized pizza on my tray. It wasn't just pizza, though. There were also chicken nuggets with ranch dipping sauce, melty cheese sticks with breading on them, and a huge frosted cinnamon roll for desert. Instead of milk, there was a chocolate milk shake! I was really hungry after the day, so I cleared my plate. I was amazed how much I was eating. One of the instructors told us the other day that we could eat anything I wanted as long as we made sure to work it all off, and said that the second part wouldn't be a problem for any on us.

After dinner, and showering, we polished our boots during the night class. Nobody got shocked for falling asleep. It was how to visually identify different weapons. I had seen some before, but not as many as we were shown. I got shocked when I couldn't tell the difference between a MA3 and MA5 rifle. Sorry, Individual Combat Weapons System. That's what Chief Mendez said to call it.

I got into the bed, which seemed more comfortable now than it did when I first slept in it. The only thing I missed was having blankets to pull around myself. Then again, it was warm enough inside the pod to not need them.

Jai and Adriana snuck out again when the lights went off. I didn't care, though. As long as I didn't get punished for it, it wasn't my business. So, rather than having seen them, I'd just say that I fell asleep… which I did a moment after updating my journal.


End file.
